KUALA SELANGOR: It is truly the festival of lights for about 30 people in a small village here because for the first time in their lives, they will celebrate Deepavali with electricity in their homes.

Overjoyed, the residents of Kampung Nyior in Bukit Belimbing here are going all out to prepare for the celebration. The village, located about two kilometres away from the famous firefly park, has been in existence for more than 50 years. Yet, it was only powered up earlier this year. The village was founded in the 1940s by about 11 families who worked at the nearby Riverside estate. The hardship faced by villagers due to the absence of electricity forced some of them to move out, leaving only five families of 40 people in the zinc-roofed settlement.

The villagers' plight was highlighted in the New Straits Times last year, during which it was pointed out that the nearest power lines were only about 500 metres away. Following calls from various quarters, the state government arranged for the supply.

P. Sellamah, 65, one of the first to move into the village about 45 years ago, said before this, the festival of lights had always been a "dark" one for them with only candles and gas lamps to provide light. "I am glad we can now make our cookies at night and on Deepavali night, we can invite guests to our house." Sellamah now lives with her children and grandchildren at the same house, and a recent visit to her home showed that the family was clearly in a joyous mood. The men were seen painting the house, while the women baked cookies and the children watched television. Sellamah's son, K. Shankar, 35, said scenes such as these could never be witnessed before. Holding up a gas lamp, he said it had always been candles, kerosene lamps and occasionally a generator that lit up the village.

A visit to another home showed the family there busy making murukku and baking cookies using an electric oven. After the village was connected to the power grid, the family of S. Murugesan, 56, bought a refrigerator and an oven. His wife, M. Letchumi, 53, said that they had never been able to bake cookies or cakes but this year, she planned to make at least five types of cookies. "Before this, I had to go to a relative's house if I wanted to make any cookies. Because of the inconvenience, we would just buy them. It's all different now." The housewife said traditional delicacies such as murukku had to be made during the day and it used to be a very hot affair as there were no fans to cool them down. "There were no cold drinks either." Letchumi said the family had purchased many decorative lights for Deepavali this year. "This is my first true Deepavali since moving to this village many years ago." She said the family used to buy about 30 boxes of candles a month, apart from gas and kerosene lamps. "That's all in the past now. We can even watch movies without any fear that the generator will break down during the climax," Letchumi said, adding that some of the families that moved out from the village planned to return as the "dark" times were over.